<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>starry eyes and love is all around us by pinestripes</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23922382">starry eyes and love is all around us</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinestripes/pseuds/pinestripes'>pinestripes</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Dark Crystal (1982), The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Fluff, Jen is a Sweetheart, Kira Knows Things, Oneshot, Post-Movie, short and sweet, these two are the cutest</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 01:02:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>912</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23922382</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinestripes/pseuds/pinestripes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"Jen, why do you never dance with me?" Kira introduces a self-conscious Jen to an important part of podling culture.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jen/Kira (Dark Crystal)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>starry eyes and love is all around us</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Just a short and sweet post-movie story. I was inspired by the scene where Jen and Kira are at the podling village, and there's this quick shot of Jen dancing with a little podling girl. I say dancing, but he's really just jumping up and down in a circle, stiff as a board. It cracks me up every time. The title is from a favorite song of mine, "Dance with Me" by the Orleans.</p><p>As always, my heartfelt gratitude to my sister for being my wonderful editor.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Podlings love to have a good time. They enjoy playing rough games and getting dirty. They love good food and good brew.</p><p>Raised by podlings, Kira is no different. She has no qualms about jumping into a mud puddle. When the podlings play their games, she will join in and play to win. She can drink almost anyone under the table.</p><p>While none of these things are necessarily Jen's favorite pastimes, he has dipped his toe into them to try and understand the way Kira and her family live. In return, they are understanding when he politely declines to participate in mud wrestling or leaves a party early to get some peace and quiet.</p><p>However, one thing Jen has yet to fully participate in is dancing.</p><p>Music, he can appreciate. He enjoys sitting in the sunshine and playing his firca. He especially enjoys playing while Kira sings. He even likes the jaunty tunes the podlings play.</p><p>But dancing? He always declines when Kira asks him to join her. He can see her disappointment in the pinch of her brow and purse of her lips, but she always just turns away with a response of "Alright then" or "Suit yourself" before going to join the podlings in their revelry.</p><p>Finally, one night, a few unum after the Great Conjunction, the two are lying in a grassy clearing and looking at the stars after an evening of celebration (since the Crystal of Truth was healed and Thra was rejuvenated, the podlings find all sorts of reasons for merrymaking). The three moons shine brightly in the darkness, letting Jen see the tension on Kira's face.</p><p>Jen is about to buck up his courage and ask what is wrong before Kira suddenly speaks. "Jen, why do you never dance with me?"</p><p>He sits up and, caught off guard, stutters, "Ah, I'm not sure—"</p><p>She sits up as well. "I always ask you to dance but you never will. You've only danced when one of the podlings drags you out. Why?"</p><p>He sputters, embarrassed, before he tries to speak, fails, swallows, and tries again. "I, well. I don't really...understand it."</p><p>"Understand what?"</p><p>"Dancing."</p><p>She looks genuinely confused. "What is there to understand? It's just dancing."</p><p>Jen wrings his hands in his lap. "I don't know what to do—with my feet? Or when to do it. It makes me feel foolish."</p><p>She blinks. <em>"Oh. </em>Oh, Jen. Why didn't you just say so?"</p><p>He smiles in a sheepish manner, ears lowering in embarrassment. "Doing that would make me feel even more foolish."</p><p>"Jen," she says, reaching over to place her hand on top of his. Her smile is gentle, if a touch amused. "You don't have to feel foolish. Dancing isn't <em>really</em> about your feet. It's about your heart."</p><p>"I don't understand."</p><p>Kira scrunches her face a little in a way that is actually very cute, like she's thinking, before she says, "You just...dance to the music the way your heart tells you to."</p><p>He frowns. "But...there <em>are </em>steps, aren't there?"</p><p>"Well...yes," Kira admits, before continuing quickly, squeezing his hand, "but they don't really matter that much! You can do them if you want, or you can do something else whenever you want."</p><p>Jen is still lost, and it must show on his face, because with a little smile Kira stands and offers him her hand. He takes it, and she pulls him to his feet. When she lets go of his hand, he quickly finds himself missing its warmth.</p><p>"Why don't I show you a few steps, so next time you'll feel a little more confident," she says.</p><p>He looks away and shuffles his feet, bashful. "I don't know, Kira…"</p><p>"Jen, you don't need to worry about looking foolish. No one is around but us."</p><p>"What about music?" he asks, as they are just far enough away from the podlings' merrymaking that the music is too quiet for them to pick out a melody.</p><p>Kira taps her chin in thought, before she laughs with a twinkle in her eye. "We'll just dance to the Song of Thra! The music in our hearts!"</p><p>Jen doesn't know what exactly she's talking about—the Mystics sometimes referenced the Song, but he's not entirely sure what it is, and he's never heard it, so he's still not sure what Kira expects them to do. But the light of the stars and the three sisters in the sky are shining down into their clearing, reflecting off Kira's hair like a halo, and her eyes are sparkling with excitement.</p><p>"Oh, alright then," he concedes.</p><p>He is rewarded with a smile that is more radiant than the brightest moon.</p><p>They get to work right away, Kira patiently demonstrating some basic dance steps, Jen clumsily copying her. Her corrections are gentle, and before too long Jen is able to go through several steps without prompting, though he is a little stiff.</p><p>Delighted, Kira grabs his hands and pulls him into a spin, and the two dance. Jen knows he gets dizzy and stumbles a few times, and once he steps on Kira's foot, but he finds that he doesn't mind. They are soon laughing breathlessly, and he stops paying much attention to what his feet are doing.</p><p>Their steps and their laughter and the sounds of the night-creatures of Thra all come together to join with the beat of his heart, and he wonders if <em>this </em>is the Song of Thra.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I hope you enjoyed! Reviews make the world go 'round. ;)</p><p>Stay healthy and take care of each other!</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>